Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with matter but not authorized to speak publicly.

Update (12:21pm): Okay, so now basically everyone involved, including Manny and Boras, are saying the positive test was triggered by a medication prescribed for a personal issue by a doctor in Miami. Regardless, banned substances are banned substances, and Manny will serve the suspension starting tonight. I suspect we’ll hear absolutely nothing about the possibility of Boston’s recent titles being tainted.

Update (12:36pm): Manny issued a statement, basically saying that it was a prescribed medication and that he’s been advised not to say anything else. He did note that he’s taken – and passed – about 15 other tests over the last few years. The statement is available here as a PDF.

Update by Ben (12:50pm): Per Will Carroll’s Twitter, Manny was suspended under section 8.G.2 of the drug agreement. This provision allows for a suspension if a player tests positive for controlled substances, PEDs or stimulants not enumerated in the prior Section 8 terms. (The JDA is available here as a PDF.)

So basically, it sounds as though Manny has been suspended for something other than a PED, a stimulant or marijuana. It could be HGH; it could be something less serious. Either way, the suspension was at the discretion of Bud Selig. Something big happened here.

Update by Ben (1:56 pm): Yahoo! Sports reports that the banned substance was a sexual performance enhancing drug. It isn’t Viagra but rather, as Steve Henson and Tim Brown report, “a substance that treats the cause rather providing a temporary boost in sexual performance, the source said.” What the cause could be is anyone’s guess.

Update by Ben (2:12 pm): ESPN reports that the fertility drug Manny was using is a steroid booster. The Worldwide Leader writes, “HCG is a women’s fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body’s natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle.” This could blow up even more.

Uh, he had two shitty years within the 2002-2008 seasons, what are you talking about? Are you really saying that his awful rookie-and-second-year campaigns are enough evidence that he couldn’t have improved sans PED’s?

Hell yeah, man, I’m still giddy over that Teixeira hit during the downpour.

jsbrendog

just ignore grant/sal/bo

Rick in Boston

When was Romero out of baseball GrantBo?

Drew

Romero failed for taking a substance found in 6-oxo in which he got from GNC. Go look it up, it’s not a steroid. I’ve taken it many times.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Benjamin Kabak

Considering that Romero is now suing the supplement maker, I’d err on the side of “he got screwed.”

Manny, I’m not so sure about.

jsbrendog

also did not romero call the number given to him by the players association to check and was tol dit was ok? or something to that effect?

mike

i manufacture these-type products, and to believe any of these idiots that a supplement triggered a drug test is nonsense.

in most cases, they will take thses supoplements on purpose to mask what they are doing by having something to point to.

he has better odds of suing the indepenedent testing lab for a false positive because thats where most misstakes are made – since he is not ( Romero) I would conclude he is full of Shi%

GG

I thought what he took had ephedra in it, is that so hard believe? Doesnt seem so to me.

Bo

Romero was close to being out of baseball when he was cut by the Red Sox in 2007. And miraculously his career his saved and then he gets caught with PED’s? But its a big mixup??

Sure.

Drew

What are you talking about? He was dominant in 07 and 08 and 05 and 04 and 02. You should really look at the numbers before you speak. Relievers have up and down years all the time.http://www.baseball-reference......html?redir

rbizzler

Ben, I am sorry but filing a lawsuit doesn’t really mean jack. Clemens has filed plenty of frivilous claims in his fight to exonerate himself. Being financially viable enough to pay an attorney to file some paperwork isn’t really a surefire sign of innocence.

We’ll see how this all shakes out though, but color me skeptical.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Benjamin Kabak

Romero was also suspended under the section of the Joint Drug Agreement that doesn’t focus on steroids. I’d recommend reading the whole thing (PDF) before leveling accusations against these players. Just because the media does a poor job of reporting what happened doesn’t mean the rest of us have to stay uninformed.

another steve

thanks for the link. good reference to have.

Slugger27

thats hilarious… im laughing out loud

Tony

To me this just further supports the theory that a large percentage of players where juicing – & to me in a weird kind of way the field was level if most where juicing.

John K.

Obviously though, he never juiced when he was in Boston.

http://forums.projectcovo.com/images/smilies/e6omir.gif Expired Milk

But but the Yankees should have signed him instead of Tex

usty

Ha…bet the dodgers tainted his stuff to save a little money on that contract.

A.D.

ietc

GG

haaahhhaaa, I could see mccourt doing that…”Listen, go taint that protein in Manny’s locker, we can make it till July without the guy, and I can save 7mil”

http://ibbw.wordpress.com Jamie

At least we know the ’96 title isn’t tainted. Good to see that both the red sox titles are officially tainted for the remainder of history.

Jersey

’98?

http://ibbw.wordpress.com Jamie

no ’96. i cant think of a player on the 96 championship team that would have been on ‘roids. And I mean like a big time player or top bench player.

Klemy

I don’t know…you may be giving too much credit.

Slu

Uh, Andy Pettitte?

jsbrendog

but he only did it once…..whats that you say?

but he only did it twice!

Bill R

I thought pettite was HGH and it’s wasn’t until well after 96

Slu

1. So says Andy, who already lied twice about it.

2. HGH is a PED. Ask Clemens.

Ed

2. HGH is a PED. Ask Clemens.

No, it’s not. Check the Mayo Clinic research.

Chris

There’s not enough data on HGH to know one way or the other. Yes, there are plenty of studies on it, but not in the situations where it’s generally used – to recover from injury or in conjunction with steroids.

CT Yankee

I’m with ED Here. HGH is an expensive whirlpool or pair of contacts

Ed

There’s more than enough data to know. A person with normal HGH levels taking HGH leads to all sorts of nasty effects.

Drew

Yeah, I’m sure he only did it those two times.. And I only tried smoking pot 3 times. Do you believe me?

Drew

AP, Wetteland, Nelson, Rogers, plenty of guys. No team is excluded. Steroid use was rampant, especially in days of the big check. Just because it will never be brought out, doesn’t mean it isn’t true or possible.

Jersey

Also – Based on everything that’s go on, I’m skeptical that any team has been truly clean for a long stretch, for what it’s worth.

thurdonpaul

jamie, you took the words out of my mouth

http://ibbw.wordpress.com Jamie

eh i just looked at the roster again for a refresher….

Ruben Sierra stands out to me now that i actually think about it. Peter Gammons btw needs to stop blowing the Red Sox and Manny… I dont CARE that you dont think he was ever a PED guy… NO ONE THINKS THESE GUYS EVER DID ANYTHING! ITS RIDICULOUS!

Donald Fehr needs to go….Selig could not have done anything to prevent this. Player testing was blocked by the player’s union for years

Tony

who cares- give me some hgh

Whitey14

Dig deeper and find facts before trying to besmirch the Red Sox titles. I know it’s what you’re hoping for, but you’ll need some positive drug tests while he was still in Boston, not after he cried his way to LA and had something to prove all over again.

B) That being said, I will agree with you, though, that this does not besmirch the Sox titles. If Manny came out and said that he’d been using Steroids, HgH, the Cream, the Clear, Clomid, and eating raw horse testicles every single day of his life including all of his Red Sox career, it still wouldn’t “besmirch” the Red Sox titles, because the Red Sox titles of 2004 and 2007 can’t be “besmirched” by any revelation of any player using PED’s. Just like the Yankees titles of 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 can’t be “besmirched” by any steroid revelation. Because the entire era was swamped with steroids. None of the titles or records should be downgraded or besmirched at all. They’re all legit, because everybody was using across all of baseball.

sam

Not everyone was using across all of baseball. Many sure, most maybe, but certainly not everyone. Also besmirching is in the eye of the beholder. Quite frankly my attitude is “once a user, always a user.”

Whitey14

I absolutely believe that members of the 2004 and 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox used PED’s at the same rate as any other team.

However, until there is proof that Manny used PD’s while with Boston statements such as the one I responded to, are pretty much ridiculous. I’m one of the biggest Manny bashers out there, but I’ll wait to see the facts before passing judgment. I’m guessing he was taking feminine hormones and trying to grow breasts because that just sounds like something he’d do.

Yankee1010

It comes at the perfect time too because there might be less attention on A-Rod when he comes back tomorrow night.

A.D.

Interesting going with the prescribed doctor angle, that will have an obvious paper trail where tainted supplements do not.

E-ROC

Man, I wonder what Ramirez took. Maybe he used some sort of hair product.

Buster Olney talked about Jordan Schafer being suspended for just being in possession of HGH but never tested positive. That’s crazy.

K.B.D.

Well, there’s no test for it that the MLBPA will allow, so yes he never “tested” positive.

Ed

MLBPA doesn’t allow HGH testing because there isn’t a reliable test. There are some blood tests, but they’re not that accurate.

Rick in Boston

Reading the article in ESPN The Magazine, it sounds like MLB’s investigative division suspended him based more on guilt by association than by any hard proof.

Bo

Maybe now people will realize every athlete is on something because with this much money at stake and the relative safety of taking drugs will under medical care, it’s a no brainer.

Haven’t we established by now that the players are very clearly taking the drugs without medical care?

A-Rod had his cousin smuggling drugs into the country and took them without having a clue on the proper usage procedure.

Giambi took a giant cocktail of drugs that was clearly unsafe to anyone with a clue. The guy was taking so much testosterone (in various forms) that he had to take female fertility drugs loaded to with estrogen to counteract the side effects of the testosterone.

Tons of players were getting their drugs from guys like Radomski who clearly were shady people with limited medical knowledge.

Peter Gammons is saying that it is not a steroid nor a PED and it is in fact something a doctor prescribed Manny.

rbizzler

Given that they announce the suspensions after the appeals process, I have a hard time believing the Gammons spin machine. He wants so badly for the Red Sox championship(s) to be based on skill, intelligence and determination that he will believe anything.

I know Manny is your boy, but the doctor prescribed angle is hard to swallow.

Kid Moe

You would think something any doctor prescribed would be checked to make sure it will not generate a false positive. I’m sure it was a top notch doctor, world class pharmacy (any pharmacist can probably tell you what will cause a positive result from a medication), and the Boras Crisis Conrol Center would make sure anything he took would be perfectly fine.

Chris

A doctor prescribed HGH for Rick Ankiel, that doesn’t make it legal.

Ed

Tends to be the case with illegal prescriptions.

Drew

It actually does make it legal. It’s just disallowed by MLB.

KW

I think he was relaying a comment from Boras. Regardless, he did just get suspended for PEDs, steroids or not.

Bob Stone

Unbelievable how we keep getting more news on the PED front. Maybe Jose Canseco was right all along in almost everthing he said. OR Maybe this is another case like J.C. Romero’s. It seems like MLB is just never going to put this PED issue in the rearview mirror.

http://ibbw.wordpress.com Jamie

I am convinced that Jose has been right since day one. I know this goes against the traditional thinking but… honestly give me ONE example of whatever he has said that hasn’t been true.

He named each of those guys as users either in his book, other interviews, or like with Manny, recently.

Bob Stone

I agree except on Manny until we know for sure whether it’s another J. C. Romero situation. But . . . deep down, I think Manny belongs on the list.

jsbrendog

::head explodes::

E-ROC

When did Sammy Sosa take steroids?

steve (different one)

probably from 1997-2003.

what you meant to say was “when did Sammy Sosa get CAUGHT taking steroids?”

the answer to which is never.

but do you honestly think he never took steroids?

i know that isn’t fair at all, but what does your gut say? my gut says yes.

that’s BS. but it’s only my opinion on a blog. if i were a reporter, i’d hold myself to a higher standard.

Ed

I am convinced that Jose has been right since day one. I know this goes against the traditional thinking but… honestly give me ONE example of whatever he has said that hasn’t been true.

Canseco claimed to have a conversation about steroid usage with Bret Boone while standing on second base during a spring training game. Canseco was never on base while Boone was on the field at any point in spring training during the year Canseco claimed the conversation took place.

KW

Ok, but let’s take Jose for what he really is saying, that Boone juiced. Is there really any doubt (opinion wise) that he did? Sure it’s never been proven and the accused are presumed innocent, but lets be serious here!

Ed

I don’t know or care if Boone juiced.

But if you clearly made up an elaborate story that’s easily proven false, it makes the rest of your story less credible. It also makes it harder to believe the parts that we have no way of verifying.

But if you clearly made up an elaborate story that’s easily proven false, it makes the rest of your story less credible. It also makes it harder to believe the parts that we have no way of verifying.

True.

My return question (honest, not snarky): Was there ever a time at all that Boone and Canseco were at second base together during a game? Like, maybe it wasn’t spring training the year he claims, but the year before or the year after? Or, maybe it wasn’t a spring game in Arizona, but an April game in Texas?

Maybe the story is true but misremembered and hence, the facts don’t line up properly so it seems false? Because memories are often way fuzzier and less precise than we claim they are.

Just asking.

Ed

I agree with your point. I’m not going to do a full search on it, but here’s what I can see…

Canseco claimed it happened when he was with the Angels and Boone had just arrived with Seattle. Each of those things means it had to be 2001. He claimed that he hit a double and slid into second with Boone covering. Canseco was never on the bases when Boone was on the field in spring training.

During the season, Canseco played for the White Sox. He played 3 games against the Mariners, reaching base twice. Once with a single and once with a walk. After the walk, he was lifted for a pinch runner. After the single, he scored from first on a double.

Canseco didn’t play after 2001, so it couldn’t have happened later.

Looking at Boone’s history, it’s highly unlikely that he used steroids before 2001 – or at least not in any quantity that would make it glaringly obvious to someone looking at him.

I don’t care about the book either, that’s just from 5 minutes of Googling and baseball-reference checks.

I know you’re always playing devil’s advocate, but the people who just blindly trust Canseco/Radomski/Selena Roberts/Random tabloid reporter without bothering to question the information piss me off.

KW

We have that story, which could be a screwup of something he remembered, vs the names he’s named which have, in some way, exonerated him and proven him correct. I think 10 correct names and one screwed up story doesn’t quite make him unbelievable. You’re right, but he’s also been right a lot of the time.

Ed

Some of the names he mentioned were simply “I don’t have any proof, but this guy looks like he did steroids.”

And it’s not one screwed up story – it’s one of the few stories that we have any means of verifying has been proven false. There’s no way of knowing the truth on stories like “I ran into XXX at a party and we talked about steroids.”

CT Yankee

So that makes him wrong? Mebee he got the year wrong? Hard to doubt Boone likes the Juice.

Ed

He made up a big elaborate story with lots of details to pinpoint it to a specific time frame. People proved it to be totally made up with just a few minutes of research, and you don’t see a problem?

Evan

Perfect timing! Finally something that should over shadow the ARod book/his return. This is our big break. Thanks Manny!!!!!

touchtoneterriost

About time the Red Sox have a person who took PEDS who was their best player in the 2004/2007 championship games.

Bob Stone

Only if it’s true and not just another J.C. Romero case with doctor prescribed medication.

Kevin Greene

HE IS ON MY FANTASY TEAM…. this is a dark day for my first place squad

jon

next up, pujlos

Bob Stone

That wouldn’t surprise me at all. At this point, nothing would surprise me regarding PEDs.

Reggie C.

keeping fingers crossed……….

E-ROC

I would probably be shocked if this were true.

Angelo

Pujols has always been a more obvious case to me moreso than Alex or Manny… He became the best player in the game with very little expierence. and he is BIGGGG.

Still IMO i don’t think PEDs are a big deal to success in basemball. Pitch tipping is.
PEDs only make you stronger in the sense you sustain maximum strenth to prevent fatigue/injury and yes do make you a stronger person which only enables you to swing harder. Players still need to make contact, field the ball, run.

The media just makes us assume PED is cheating which is a good argument. I say who cares about HOF and tainted records. I just want these guys to perform if their playing on my favorite team.

Good day for Yankee/Arod fans :)

http://eemack.blogspot.com Jackson

I know as a Yankees fan this should make me happy considering the crap we’ve taken from Red Sox fans about steroids, but it really doesn’t.

If Albert Pujols ever tests positive for something and is suspended I might cry.

It’s an era. Everyone’s guilty and nobody is guilty. Stop trying to look for the “clean savior”… just accept it and move on.

Sean A

Lets get some of these PED’s for the bullpen

Thomas

Is it wrong that my first thought was “Shit, now I have no chance of winning the RAB fantasy league?”

Bryan

I’m thinking, “I can trade an outfielder to the guy with manny for a closer”!

AndrewYF

I have an overabundance of OFs AND closers.

Who wants to trade me Joe Mauer?

Sean A

You’ll hear cries from fenway to LA for A-Rods suspension now

pat

There is no fucking way the MSM will say shit about this tainting the Red Sox titles.

jsbrendog

obv because theo mustve known he started using to keep up his edge and traded him. epstein orchestrated the whole red sox/manny fiasco so he could unload a knowk steriod user. well done theo.

for diamond cutters, im peter gammons

putt

that’s hilarious…I even read it in Gammons’ voice.

Joe R

If this is even PED related, they’ll say you cant prove that he did it in Boston, and in the next breath say how A-Rod is lying and is on the juice his whole career.

Stryker

manny being…a-rod.

boychick

wow.

Reggie C.

MLB Team doctors should be on the lecture circuit in the offseason and hold conventions for doctors whose clientele include minor and ML players . This type of scenario – prescribing medicines containing banned substances – can be avoided.

touchtoneterriost

Pujols the next one.And just like A-Rod will find out about it when he chases bionds record.

pat

Wow, he apparently found out about this a few weeks ago and his appeal of the suspension was denied. Kinda makes it seem a little more serious than an accidental over the counter drug no?

UWS

Just Manny being Manny.

Sal

When does ortiz get named

Bob Stone

I’ve suspected him all along with dramatic rise and fall

Colombo

I asked a coworker of mine who is a sox fan, and his reply to this was:

i wonder if hes on that list of 103 that arod was on…. i wouldnt be surprised if something came up about that now…cmon selena pull through for us you rat

Angelo

Does anybody have a link of the list of players Canseco believed to take PEDs?

He really knows what he’s talking about with this shyt

Evan

I’m just glad ARod’s return will be a smaller blip on the Baseball Media radar now. Let’s hope they tear into the Red Sox clubhouse and ask everyone on the WS teams tons of questions about this crap. Thanks Manny!

sean

it can’t be true. only AROD does those things

Bob Stone

LOL

pat

His suspension would not be starting tomorrow if this was some sort of innocent mistake.

rbizzler

Nope, suspensions are announced after the appeals process. His appeal was denied.

daneptizl

I’m excited… I want the other 103!

Bob Stone

At this point in time, it would be better for the whole list of 103 to come out now to get the PED issue in the rearview mirror once and for all. I’d really like that to take place. But it isn’t going to happen. There are too many issues regarding confidentiality, promises made, contract between MLB and the MBPLA. It’ll take an ingenius and diligent reporter to get the list out. MLB officcials can’t release it. Too much at stake!!

Outside of the 50 games missed baseball ramifications… meh, I still don’t really care. Just like ARod, still a first ballot Hall of Famer, still eligible for my All-Star and MVP votes.

My third reaction (two seconds after that):

I’d still sign him to be our LF/DH for 2010-2011.

Angelo

MVP, HOF voting has become a joke. Like yourself, I agree and any fan of any respective player should be recognized as MVP, and or HOF because in my eyes Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez are two of the best baseball players of all time.

Evan

Manny Ramirez is one of the greatest HITTERS of all time, certainly not one of the greatest baseball players.

I wish this story broke when he was a free agent, then his price would had plummeted to probably Bobby Abreu levels.

Bob Stone

I wonder if the positive test predated his contract signing – there is a lag between the test and when it’s announced. That would give the Dodgers some recourse to get some of the contract money back, if they were so inclined to pursue that course. But i don’t think they will, even if they could.

Angelo

+1…
If teams know you can’t play at least 50 games because you’ve tested positive for PEDs, that player is probably worth no more than 5 mil even if he puts up manny #s for the limited time he sees.

KW

Nah that doesn’t make sense. You’djust take 33% of his salary and deduct it, it still means he’s worth at least $14mil

Angelo

The perception of the media to baseball will taint his name as well. Along with his attitude you gotta figure it wouldn’t just be 33% of his salary

Any player tied to PEDs leads to so many qualitive quesions which can’t all be answered

No, but it’s called doping, which I’m pretty sure is also illegal by MLB standards.

Drew

Man, I get home from my interview and see this one ESPN. Just last night I watched Manny hit a double on MLB Network during a live stream. This sucks, love Manny, he should have asked MLB if it was approved before taking it. Even if it was subscribed from a doctor, as we all know, Docs are can prescribe steroids and other things for many reasons, I wonder what exactly he was prescribed.

Nady Nation

“This sucks, love Manny, he should have asked MLB if it was approved before taking it.”

Bingo. This is why the whole “doctor’s prescription” angle is tough to believe.

Drew

True, I’d say it’s believable, just not an excuse. If a Doc prescribes you testosterone because you have a deficiency, it doesn’t mean you are allowed to take it per MLB rules.

On the possibility of ESPN showing any clips of Manny in a Red Sox uniform like they did when the ARod story broke about his Texas use and he was constantly showed in a Yankees uniform: http://tinyurl.com/d58u8v

McCaff

I find it funny how George Mitchell misses this one in his report. Oh wait, he was on the Red Sox. My bust.

gxpanos

Lame. At this point news like this registers the same way it would register if it were a suspension for gambling, or coke, or shooting himself in the leg at the club after going to Applebee’s.

Don’t care. Love Manny still (now that he plays in the NL!). If I were a Dodger fan I’d be so mad. They’re like 22-8 or something, and they’re about to be a lot closer to .500.

Klemy

I routinely shoot myself in the leg if I even consider going to an Applebees.

Hopefully. Everyone was doing it. I hated when they questioned the Yankees titles, and I think no good can come out of questioning the Red Sox titles. I always said that it would be bad for baseball if Ortiz or Manny tested positive, and I stand by it. I thought it might make me happy, but honestly, its just depressing to know that this is never going away. This is the sport in todays world, and we just have to deal with it.

Bob Stone

MLB officials thought that the Mitchell Report would put the PED issue in the past. Boy were they wrong. It is not going away for a long time . . . myabe never. As long as drug development and masking continue to be as sophisticated as it is today, players are going to seek the edge it provides. There is too much money at stake.

dkidd

agree 100%

Brooklyn Ed

We all knew it, I wonder where’s the people that wanted the Yanks to sign Manny now? hmm…

It would have sucked to have signed Manny and then lost him for 50 games… but I’d still advocate for signing him then and still advocate for signing him next year.

Klemy

I wouldn’t change my thoughts based on this. The guy can rake, steroids or not. I don’t care if someone used, as long as they can hit with RISP, which happens to be something we epic fail in right now.

I suspect we’ll hear absolutely nothing about the possibility of Boston’s recent titles being tainted.

My sources tell me that while there’s absolutely no way Manny was using anything up until 2007, he was seen with Yuri Sucart in the Dominican Republic in the winter immediately after the Sox second title “looking for the Boli”.

Apparently he was so furious with team owner John Henry for not renegotiating his contract, he cooked up an elaborate scheme with the help of agent Scott Boras to attempt to test positive for steroids to try and besmirch the Red Sox sterling record, intending to use the threat of the positive test to blackmail the team into giving him a hefty raise.

When GM Theo Epstein got wind of the plan, he immediately traded Manny for Jason Bay, who is from Canada and has never tested positive for anything other than high levels of maple syrup and brawn.

For Diamond Cutters, I’m Peter Gammons, ESPN.

Klemy

“Bay, who is from Canada and has never tested positive for anything other than high levels of maple syrup and brawn.”

This 15 test nonsense is pretty crazy. They only do 5 or so tests per season? You might as well tell a guy, be clean on the 28th of each month. Even if they do urine tests 10 times per year, these guys can afford a life time supply of masks for different drugs.

Chris

Not to mention that A-Rod or Manny alone have more money that the WADA which is the gold standard in drug testing. If one of them wanted to develop an undetectable drug they could easily bankroll it.

Bob Stone

Well at least Manny doesn’t get paid during the suspension. Hes loses about $7.7 million. That’s a pretty expensive visit to the doctor.

KW

That’s why I really don’t buy the whole “it’s a doctor’s supplement” bit. You’d think after the Romero incident, and with Boras as an agent, that he’d scan everything twice over before taking something prescribed. It’s a lot of money to fuck around with over something stupid

dkidd

can we start a grass-roots “fire bud selig” movement?

Bob Stone

Why? What is a new commissioner going to do differently, let alone more effectively?

dkidd

how about educating players and doctors so they can no longer use the “doctor prescribed it” or “i bought it over the counter at GNC” excuse?

how about dealing with problems as they arise instead of ignoring them until players are testifying in front of congress?

how about not being an incompetent idiot?

http://www.puristbleedspinstripes.com Aunt Becca-Optimist Prime

Question: I don’t think it surprises a ton of us that Manny’s tested positive for something, medication or not.

Who would be the most suprising?

KW

Miguel Cairo?

rbizzler

I guess you missed the Neifi Perez suspension. Scrubs take juice too…and still stink.

KW

my mistake. How about Cody Ransom?

AlexNYC

teh Johan!!!! myabe Roy Holliday!!!!1111!!11!one!111111111

Angelo

Juice doesn’t mean your gonna play better. I bet alot of players who never got caught and never made the big show took juice

To add onto my own joke, if urine were banned, how would you test for it?

:: head explodes ::

Andy in Sunny Daytona

Bugs Bunny

dkidd

ken griffey

another steve

waiting on the roy oswalt failed test…

yankeefan91 Arod fan

Wow now we cant trust any players now.

STEVE B BALL

everyone will still make A-Rod the villain

Tampa Yankee

ESPN had a poll up at one point that asked who’s positive test was more damaging ARod’s or Manny’s … and at 55% of the vote… ARod!

It’s always Arods fault!11!!!!1

KW

I think its that he’s a heckuva lot better than manny (in that he’s got the chance to break bonds record, etc) and he was the first truly big name, current player to do it. Giambi doesn’t quite sum up to arod

I just emailed a friend and noted how dejected everyone on ESPN looks and sounds. It’s really pretty amazing how different the reaction is to this issue with Manny than it’s been with other players in the past. I thought Tim Kurkjian was going to cry.

jsbrendog

spillover thread?

GG

“it could be HGH”…..I thought they can’t test for HGH?

Drew

True, that doesn’t come up in a urine screening.

Drew

Am I the only one that assumed he took something? Whether it was recently or back when he was a kid in NY, I kind of just assumed he did. He and many others..

Bob Stone

Many of us had the same assumption about many players – unfortunately

A.D.

2007 is the only logical year where Manny had a significant numbers drop for him to then start taking steroids.

Jorge Steinbrenner

This is glorious on so many levels.

Tampa Yankee

“I see Blue, He look’s glorious”

MattG

Let me break from convention for one minute–have you looked at Manny’s swing? This is the most beautiful right handed swing I’ve ever seen. No amount of drugs gives you that kind of quiet, balanced, lethal swing that he repeats again and again. That is a 500 HR swing on Flintstone vitamins.

A.D.

Then it’s even dumber he took something. Just like Barry Bonds, he was already going to the hall, he was the only 400/400 man in history, but too much of an ego maniac, had to be in the spotlight.

And yes, I will STILL take Manny on this team because he will STILL produce.

mustang

“And yes, I will STILL take Manny on this team because he will STILL produce.”

Of course you would lets forget about what it does to the game or the players that played clean before him. Or the historical numbers that this game is totally based on.
You know what lets just make MLB into WWF a bunch of drug up clowns running around on TV.

AJ

And the plot thickens…Peter Gammons has gone through at least 7 boxes of tissues right now, crying to himself that this is all a bad dream.

I guess his only plausible deniability was that he was taking it for fertility reasons. But either way his doctor should’ve known it was a testosterone booster

A.D.

Honestly how could he or the doctor think that could be okay?

KW

That’s pretty much exactly why his case doesn’t look so good right now. Let alone that he appealed and lost, this, combined with the fact that it’s explicitly restricted, with 50 games worth of salary on the line, how could you think he did it accidentally?

Rich M

He didn’t appeal.
From Yahoo:

“Ramirez admitted to having taken the substance and declined to appeal. His 50-game suspension begins today.”

TC

Unless it is proven that this is literally the first time Manny has cycled, MLB has some serious ‘splainin’ to do about the efficacy of their testing program.

Mattchu12

Sounds like Manny couldn’t get his Mannywood up. Anybody else concerned that they may have chosen this particular drug because it had the fall back story of “its a fertility drug”?

another steve

has anyone considered that manny just might be pregnant?

Hawkins44

AROD is so happy today…. he will be in the lineup tomorrow and it won’t even be a story.

http://eastrutherfordrant.com donttradecano

“Oh, and if Sully, Little Sully and the rest of the Red Sox fans try to chant “steroids” at A-Rod in June, it would be the height of hypocrisy. If Manny was using in 2009 when baseball was testing, what do you figure he was doing when baseball wasn’t testing?

Meanwhile, David Ortiz last hit a home run on Sept. 22.

You’re fooling yourself to think any team was clean and be very, very careful of believing your favorite player was. If hugely talented guys like A-Rod and Manny were/are using, then how were the mere mortals keeping up?

While this whole mess, all you can do is hope the testing program works, that better tests are developed and that the players coming into the game now are either too scared or too smart to cheat.”

Pete Abe making some sense.

thesultanofswat

So maybe those shirts in the Bronx were right…”BIG PAPI SUCKS MANNY’S LITTLE PEE PEE”

Hawkins44

One other thing. I just heard Peter Gammon’s. Apparently the people in Boston KNOW that Manny has never taken steroids and that this test was a error. Based upon this source Gammon’s proclaimed Manny guilty of only a simple mistake. Gammon’s has not been a solid journalist since the brain issue.

http://eastrutherfordrant.com donttradecano

makes you wonder Gammons got into the wall, while Buck Oneil didnt.

pat

Gammons was honored by the Hall, not actually inducted.

Kevin M.

The drug he got subested with is used to re-start your tesosterone cycle after you’ve used steroids for a long time. Manny has been using roids for a long long time and Gammons may have just destroyed his own reputation with that ESPN phone interview.

AJ

No he didn’t – at least no to the casual fan. They’ll see it and just think he made a mistake and forgive him. But he should go after Manny and hound him like he did A-Rod. But since Manny donned a Red Sox uni, he will get a pass from Gammons.

AJ

By the way, reading on MLBTR, Manny failed two drug tests this year – one in Spring Training, and another recent one.

thesultanofswat

oh wait and I guess we forgot about JC Romero…2007 Championship…TAINTED.

Jill Santana

Great irony!! Torre writes a book about A-ROD and says negative things about him. That turned me against Torre. I like A-Rod, but more importantly, what a tacky thing to do. Now, turns out Torre has his own headache. Can’t say he did not deserve this!!! What goes around comes around.

emac2

Rare but oh so sweet!

yankeeswisdom

BAHAHHAHAHAH LMAO…. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING

This article really put a smile on my day especially after the last 4 yankee games. Everyone shuold take a read at Ken ROUSENDOUCHE’s article on foxsports. It’s probably one of the only unbiased pieces of literature he has even written. With that being said, Manny is an idiot. And Im pissed that no sports writer will ever question the BOSTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, look into how long MANNY’s been doing it , talk about his legacy and all in all bastardize him the way they did to A-Rod. Im tired of everyone hating A-rod about his issues, but it honestly is a sad ERA. All in all, atleast A-Rods the best player in the game, is young, and has the oppurtunity to silence everyone and I cant wait to get him back this friday night. (HES GOING TO BE IN THE LINEUP ACCORDING TO REPORTS…see foxsoprts.com). So when we is back we all need to root for him as hard as he can so we can be the team that we can be on pen and paper, those goddam jays make me nervous!

RustyJohn

Maybe Manny is undergoing a sex change operation like Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs”. That would explain his dancing around with a feather bowa while listening to “Goodbye Horses”. And everyone thought it was Manny just being Manny…

“Would you fuck me? I’d fuck me.”

yankeeswisdom

sorry but my english isnt so great. mybad for any grammatic and spelling errors

K.B.D.

The Gammons spin machine is PAINFUL. Manny can apparently do no wrong. Now, I might not be a doctor, by why the hell would someone supply a FERTILITY DRUG for a PERSONAL (MALE) MEDICAL PROBLEM.

Manny can’t get pregnant? That’s not a problem. As an experienced male (and ladies, I do mean experienced), males cannot, in fact, bear children. It follows then that, fertility drugs might alleviate this situation. After careful research, I came to find out that males lack the reproductive capabilities (read: uterus). Fertility drugs don’t, in fact, cause uterus growth.

If someone can explain to me if there is an actual reason to prescribe someone a fertility drug, please, enlighten me.

thesultanofswat

to restart your system when coming off of a steroid program. i’m sure he was shooting Papi up in the showers…

Dan12

manny is pregnant with ortizs baby…. bahahahah

Kat

Could not have happened to a better person. Lame excuse I’ve heard – Manny Being Manny. It’s about time someone slapped him down a few notches. I may not be a Sox fan but the best day in Sox history (in the last few years) was the day they shipped him out!!!

E. Aron

Of course you wont hear about tainted Boston titles, if you want that then you’re gona have to go ahead and taint every Yankees title from 96-2000 also, quite probably every World Series champion since 1995. I was surprised at that comment.

rally caps

This is why I hate ESPN. (It’s really a love-hate relationship.) The first question the ESPN anchor asks when the news rolls in that the drug Manny was on was a drug that gets you off steroids is, “Now just because he’s on this, does that have to mean he was on steroids before?”

Whereas the first question asked after the A-Rod story comes out was, “Now, Peter, does this not just confirm what we were all thinking that A-Rod is the worst human being alive and probably the biggest disgrace the planet has known since Judas?”

Fair and balanced baby…

Bob McConnell

My first question is why doesn’t his personal physician know what substances are forbidden and what is not? MLB should have provided him with detailed information about what he can and cannot subscribe for Manny. Where was it?